Regime which backed a nuclear Iran to get U.S. help with reactor
CAIRO — Yemen is close to concluding a nuclear energy deal with Western
investors.
Officials said the Sanaa government which has supported Iran's nuclear program was in the advanced stages of
negotiations with Canadian and U.S. investors to construct Yemen's first
nuclear reactor. They said the planned reactor would generate 5,000
megawatts of electricity as well as desalinate sea water.
"We aim to achieve a final agreement between the two sides," Yemeni
Energy Minister Mustafa Bahran said.
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Bahran said the negotiations would be held this week. The minister said
construction of the nuclear reactor would take four years.
Officials did not identify the investors or the cost of the project. But
they said Canada and the United States would help fund the Yemeni nuclear
reactor.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said nuclear energy would be vital
to fulfill Sanaa's needs. Saleh has been a leading supporter of Iran's
nuclear program, regarded by the West as meant to develop weapons.
Officials said the Yemeni project would come under the supervision of
the International Atomic Energy Agency. They said IAEA director-general
Mohammed El Baradei has been informed of Sanaa's negotiations with the
Western companies.
